Riley Gaines to Megan Rapinoe: You Have Nothing to Lose

Former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines called out Megan Rapinoe early Tuesday morning, accusing the American soccer player of having nothing to lose in the fight for the soul of women’s sports.

According to OutKick, Gaines responded to a March tweet from Rapinoe that claimed “trans kids” are not the issue in women’s sports; the real issues are “unequal pay, sexual abuse & lack of resources.”

“It’s worth noting that 1) you are done playing sports competitively and 2) because you aren’t sexually attracted to men, you will never have a daughter to defend,” the former University of Kentucky swimmer tweeted Tuesday. “To me, this simply looks like virtue signaling because you have nothing to personally lose.”

In a follow-up tweet, Gaines asserted Rapinoe would not put up with a man taking her position.

“I can respect opinions that differ from my own and everyone is entitled to think/speak independently, but I can’t help but think Megan Rapinoe would genuinely shiv any male who tried to take her spot on the US Women’s National Team,” she said.

It is unclear why the tweets were originally deleted, but newer similar versions of the tweets remained up at the time of this story being posted.

Gaines’ tweets came one day after Rapinoe, her basketball legend fiancée Sue Bird, and 38 others signed an Athlete Ally letter sent to House lawmakers over the “Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.”

“Faux feminism,” Gaines rebuked Tuesday.

Athlete Ally is an athlete group that supports LGBTQ initiatives. According to Sports Illustrated, the group sent the letter Monday.

“We believe that gender equity in sport is critical, which is why we urge policymakers to turn their attention and effort to the causes women athletes have been fighting for decades, including equal pay, an end to abuse and mistreatment, uneven implementation of Title IX, and a lack of access and equity for girls of color and girls with disabilities, to name only a few,” the letter reads. “Our deepest hope is that transgender and intersex kids will never have to feel the isolation, exclusion and othering that H.R. 734 is seeking to enshrine into law.”

Gaines shot video of herself being ambushed and assaulted by transgender activists last Thursday night when she tried to speak at a Turning Point USA event at San Francisco State University. The biological women’s sports advocate said she was “physically hit twice by a man.”

Gaines was reportedly barricaded inside a room for several hours to escape the protesters and ultimately required a police escort.